Your accountant shows up in April. You're on your own the other eleven months.
Most owner-led businesses have the numbers somewhere. What they don't have is someone paying attention to them. I fix that - and then some.
Tax, accounting and business advisory for owner-led businesses doing $500K to $5M. Too big for DIY. Too small for a full-time finance team.
FOUNDED BY
Bret Goddard, CPA, MT
WORKS WITH
Owner-led service businesses
SWEET SPOT
$500k - $5M revenue
You're great at the work. The financial side is a different story.
So many owner-led businesses I meet have the same four problems. None of them get solved by an accountant who shows up in April and disappears in May.
Your accountant disappears after tax season.
Quarterly estimates, budget decisions, whether you can take that draw - you're figuring it out alone. Your accountant isn't unavailable. They're just not paying attention to your business the other eleven months.
The books are somewhere in QuickBooks.
Nothing reconciles cleanly, the categories drift every month. Revenue looks fine, but you can't tell a good month from a bad one without scrolling through a bank app at 11 P.M. That's not a system, that's guessing with extra steps.
You're paying more tax than you should.
Nobody is planning ahead. Entity structure, owner comp, retirement, equipment timing - the levers exist but nobody is pulling them. By the time the return is filed, the year is already locked in.
There's no one to think out loud with.
Hiring decisions, pricing changes, a new truck, taking on a partner. You're making six and seven figure decisions in your head, with nobody in your corner who actually knows what the numbers say.
Tax and accounting are the entry point. Advisory is the actual product.
Four ways I work with owner-led businesses. Most clients start with a Financial Foundation, then settle into a monthly engagement that fits the company.
01 / Foundation
Books and tax, handled.
The baseline every owner-led business should have. Books current. Tax handled. No scramble at year-end.
- Monthly close and reconciliation
- QuickBooks Online maintenance
- Quarterly estimated taxes
- Year-end business and personal returns
- Quarterly check-in call
02 / The Advisor
The conversation, monthly.
Everything in Foundation, plus the conversation every month. Decisions in front of you instead of behind you. This is the actual product.
- Monthly financial call
- Year-round tax planning
- Owner compensation and entity strategy
- Pricing, staffing, and cash flow decisions
- Same-day response for urgent questions
03 / Project Work
One specific thing, done right.
One specific job with a defined finish line. No monthly commitment. Quoted per engagement. Often becomes a monthly engagement after.
- QuickBooks cleanup and rebuild
- One-time tax strategy and projection
- Entity structure review
- Pre-sale or pre-financing readiness
04 / Onboarding
Start with a Financial Foundation.
Two sessions. Entity structure reviewed, books checked, tax situation assessed, key deductions surfaced, plain-English roadmap. Converts to monthly.
- Entity structure and tax election review
- Accounting and books health check
- Deductions and missed opportunities
- Plain-English 12 month roadmap
The conversations clients actually want to have.
Not "where's my W-2." These are the calls owners make in their car on the way home, or at 9 PM after the kids go to bed.
Owner pay
"Can I actually take this draw without blowing up my taxes?"
We look at your entity structure, your projected income, and what you've already paid in. Then we give you a real number, not a guess.
Staffing
"Can I afford another hire, and what does the math need to look like?"
We model it out - what the hire costs fully loaded, what revenue needs to cover it, and how long until it makes sense on paper.
Entity
"Should I be an S-corp yet, and what changes when I am?"
This one actually has a real answer based on your numbers. We run it. No guessing, no "it depends" without actually running the numbers.
pRicing
"Why is revenue up but my bank account is flat?"
Usually it's a margin problem or a timing problem. Sometimes both. We find it in the numbers and tell you what to do about it.
tax
"What can I do before December 31st to lower this year's bill?"
This is exactly the conversation that should be happening in October or November - not April. That's what year-round planning looks like.
Exit
"What does this business need to look like before I can sell it?"
Clean books. Consistent margins. Owner-independent operations. I've spent 25 years on the other side of that conversation.
Three steps. No long sales process.
We don't do RFPs, decks, or six discovery calls. You'll know within a week whether this is a fit.
01
A 30 minute call.
You tell me about the business. I tell you honestly whether I'm the right fit, and what I'd do first if I were you. No deck, no sales pitch.
02
Onboarding.
Two working sessions. We review entity, books, and tax position, surface the obvious wins, and produce a written 12 month roadmap.
03
Monthly engagement.
You roll into Foundation or The Advisor. Books stay current, taxes stay handled, and we have the conversations throughout the year instead of every April.
Flat monthly fees. No surprises.
Every engagement includes your business return and your personal return. No hourly billing. No surprise invoices. Cancel any time, no lock-in or long-term contracts.
Tier 01
Foundation
average
$750/month
- Monthly close and reconciliation
- QuickBooks Online maintenance
- Quarterly estimated taxes
- Year-end business and personal returns
- Quarterly check-in call
Tier 02
The Advisor
average
$1250/month
- Monthly financial call
- Year-round tax planning
- Owner compensation and entity strategy
- Pricing, staffing, and cash flow decisions
- Same-day response for urgent questions
Tier 03
Project Work
Quoted/project
- QuickBooks cleanup and rebuild
- One-time tax strategy and projection
- Entity structure review
- Pre-sale or pre-financing readiness
This Firm is NOT a CPA Firm.
Bret Goddard
I work with small business owners who are really good at what they do, but completely alone when it comes to the financial side of running a business. Most of them have an accountant who shows up in April and disappears in May.
What they actually need is someone to think out loud with, who also makes sure the IRS doesn't ruin their year. That's what I do.
Before starting Quark CFO, I spent 25 years placing CFOs, Controllers, and Tax Directors at companies from $10M to Fortune 500. I know what good financial leadership looks like from the inside - and what it looks like when it's missing.
CREDENTIALS
CPA, Master of Taxation
FOCUS
Owner-led services businesses
NOT A FIT FOR
Startups, crypto, W-2 only tax returns.
What can I help you with?
Drop your information and tell me what's going on. You'll hear back from me directly - not a scheduler, not a form letter - within one business day.
No pitch deck. No drip campaign. One reply from Bret.